2. Pretty sweeping statement there. How do you know that ALL of them will believe this? That might have been just your school. Besides, extending that shin out to block the leg kick (like what most MMA'ers will do) is still Hicho. Ooh, you missed something else, didn't you?

It's funny how every shitty martial art practitioner plays the "maybe it was just YOUR school" or "not at MY school" card. We have all these pictures from different schools, but apparently no REAL ninjas train like that. What gives?

BJK is soo large and uncontolled with mini empires under each shihan, that his arguement can be valid.

The footing is the exact same, just the hand position varies slightly and it's not as deep as the Koto Ryu Ichimonji everyone is taught (or Togakure Ryu if they make you go really deep).

This is something I'm often confused about; Koto ryu has been taught to me as typically having the tightest and most upright guards... also that there is not a mention of ichimonji in the kurai dori, only seigan no kamae, migi-seigan, hoko, bobi, and hira ichimonji (hicho with arms spread open).

But looking around at various online resources, and people tend to use ichimonji and seigan interchangeably, or add ichimonji to the kurai dori, and often mention its kamea as being long and deep. I hear Japanese shihan will demonstrate the ryu differently, some postured quite low and others quite high.